"We wanted to make a statement to finish the game,” Cowboys offensive coordinator Larry Fedora said. "‘Let's finish this thing. You all go out there and finish it.' And they wanted to finish it.”

The risks were much greater than the rewards would have ever been. Even though the Cowboys have let leads slip in the past — Texas A&M and Texas come to mind — those weren't four-touchdown leads with only a few minutes remaining.

What did OSU really have to gain by putting Zac Robinson, Dantrell Savage and Co. out there against Baylor?

The losses could've been much bigger. When Savage was hit hard on the first play of the drive and stayed on the ground long enough for trainers to come out, it should've been all the warning the coaches needed to pull the starters.

Instead, they left the first-team offense out there anyway. The Cowboys avoided what could've been a disaster by luck not smarts.